This invention relates to zoom lens systems with stabilized optical means, and more particularly to an image stabilizing mechanism for a camera, telescope, or other optical instrument employing a zoom lens objective.
When pictures are taken by a hand held movie camera, or when a cine camera of the hand held type, or a telescope is used, while walking, or riding in a car, the camera or telescope is subjected to both severe car vibrations and the normal jiggle introduced by the user. This results in an undesirable image at the focal plane of the camera, or an unpleasant view field in the telescope.
There have previously been developed various image stabilization systems. The present applicant also has proposed such a system in U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 442,605. A system employing an optical wedge as the stabilized optical means is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,378,326, and those employing reflecting means are described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,475,074 and DAS No. 1,181,540. These prior art systems may be outlined as follows. A Galilean type telescopic section (teleconverter) having an angular magnification, or an inverting telescopic section (wide-converter), stabilized optical means and a relay lens are arranged in this order from the front in an optical path thereof. As the complete system is assumed to be tilted to an angle, .alpha., with respect to an original line of sight axis, the incoming light enters the converter at the angle, .alpha., with respect to the optical axis thereof and emerges therefrom at an angle, m .alpha., with respect thereto. If the emerging light rays are deflected in passing through the stabilized optical means by the angle, m .alpha., but in the opposite direction to that of angular deviation of the complete system, the rays enter the relay lens in parallel to its axis. Accordingly, the complete system focuses the rays at the same point on the focal plane as that for which the rays were focused when the complete system was aligned with the line of sight axis.